The ashes are a mystery really. no one really knows what they are many theories like ashesfrom the first game, a notablewomans underwear, etc could even have the charred remains of the loch ness monster, no one really knows.
The ashes are the prize at the end of the seasons battles. The best team in the world gets the ashes/ trophy for a year.
Isn't Antje a Dutch name??

I am going out on a limb here but guess that there are no women cricket teams. Also, There seems to be lots of opportunities to start interesting little battles with those wicked bats. And what gets burned to ashes? And who invented this game? Somebody on a magic mushroom diet?
Thank you,everybody. I am now more confused that ever.

Throw rock, kick rock and stick rock are precambrian artefacts.

You have two sides, one out in the field and one in.

Each man that's in the side that's in goes out, and when he's out he comes in and the next man goes in until he's out.

When they are all out, the side that's out comes in and the side that's been in goes out and tries to get those coming in, out.

Sometimes you get men still in and not out.

When a man goes out to go in, the men who are out try to get him out, and when he is out he goes in and the next man in goes out and goes in.

There are two men called umpires who stay out all the time and they decide when the men who are in are out.

When both sides have been in and all the men have been out, and both sides have been out twice after all the men have been in, including those who are not out, that is the end of the game.

This is cricket!

It is cricket season again, the Australian cricket team are in Dubai playing several “friendlies” with other nations to find the most formidable opponents or the upcoming ashes clash at the end of the season.
While not actually playing cricket,, the team will go to all the tourist destinations Dubai has to offer.

Last week they all decided to go on the Bedouin tour.
The Bedouin tour is a trek into the desert in several 4x4’s to a tented location where the Arabs put on a traditional banquet and give new meaning to the word “hospitality”.

Two chaps had smuggled a bottle of OP rum on the trip and had demolished the whole bottle half way through the bedouin experience.
As the tour was no where near over, the tour guide refused to drive tese two chaps back to Dubai so they could go back to their hotel and get some more booze.
Alcohol is forbidden in Dubai except in the tourist hotels and certain tourists’ bars.

So the two chaps decided to walk back to Dubai, after all it was only a 40 minute drive from their hotel room in Deerum to the Bedouin tent. They would be back in their hotel bar before the rest of the team returned.
They sneak off for their hour trip (tops they think) back to Dubai.
They scramble over the first sand dune with little effort, being easy going they stick to their resolve to beat the rest of the team back to the bar getting a few of many beers under their belt before the rush..
The first ten dunes proved to fairly easing going, but not having any water, thirst and the incessant heat was starting take its toll.

At the top of every dune they came to they would look out towards where Dubai should be. So far there was no sign, only desert and more sand dunes.

As the day wears on and the temperature rises,they have a raging thirst and the heat…….

They are totally committed now, they cannot turn back , besides Dubai has to be just over the next sand dune. They have to continue. The thought of cool beer givies them renewed vigour.

It is well known that the best plans of mice and men… So it was with our two chaps. On top of the last dune they could no longer walk upright, so they had to continue by crawling on all fours.
It won’t be for long as Dubai is just over the next dune

They crawl to the next dune, then the next numerous times, still no sign of Dubai.
One chap comes across a cricket ball.
Hooray they are just out of Dubai must be to find a ball.

They pick themselves up and walk upright to the next dune, on top they see another sand dune. Off they set, but the heat and dehydration takes it’s toll once again so they continue crawling knowing they cannot be far out of Dubai to find a cricket ball.

Not long later the other chap calls out “Eureka. Another cricket ball”. They pick themselves up again mustering all of their energy to walk into Dubai and drink a nice cool keg of beer each.
On top of the next sand dune they find another one behind it.
Feeling somewhat dejected, they find that they cannot keep walking, so down on all fours they continue.

Just over the next rise they find it!
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A dead Cricket

It's about batting, bowling and fielding. It's a summer game. The field is an oval in shape and name. Australian Rules Football uses the same oval as its field of play (think the only "football" that doesn't have a rectangular field; smart us Aussies, same field for summer and winter sports). It is a game you may play for 5 days with no result.
When bowling, you may not throw the ball. The arm must be straight; as kids, we were told your elbow must go above your ear when rolling the arm over. 6 balls an over, with the need to release the ball being a line (crease) and within the width of the bowling pitch (wicket pitch), situated in the middle of the oval. If not bowled correctly, called a no-ball (over crease) or a wide (too wide off the pitch) which you have to bowl again but the opposition also score one run. Actual rules seem to be covered by others comments here.
Had a Canadian exchange student who didn't understand cricket either, so I took him to a game. It's a slow moving game so you drink and party on, had a great day. He left saying "I love cricket!". So like fishing, it's basically a good relaxing way to pass time.
Like many things, even though the Poms invented it, others have mastered it

Here is a basic outline which I've stolen from an online source, interspersed with a few comments of my own.
Cricket is played between two teams each made up of eleven players.

The game doesn't have standard ground sizes or conditions so variations of weather, surface are vitally important to strategy and tactics The central part of the ground, however (where the batsmen are) is always 22 yards long. It is known as the "pitch" or, confusingly as the "wicket". There are 3 sticks planted in the ground behind each batsmen. Confusingly they can be called "stumps" or "wickets".

Games consist of at least one innings where each team will take turns in batting and fielding/bowling.

Rough equivalents between cricket and baseball:

• "bowler" is roughly equivalent to "pitcher" although a cricket ball is delivered with an overarm action and generally bounces (or "pitches" ) before it reaches the batsman
• "wicket keeper" = "catcher" and is the only fieldsman who wears gloves.

A bowler bowls 6 balls ("deliveries" ) from one end to the batsman at the other end. This sequence of 6 balls is called "an over". If the batsmen score runs in the course of an over (see below) then the bowler may be bowling at a different batsman.

The fielding team will have a bowler bowl the ball to the batsman who tries to hit the ball with the bat.
The fielding team tries to get the batsmen out by…

• Hitting the wickets with the ball when bowling
• Catching a batsman’s shot on the full
• Hitting the batsman’s leg in front of the wicket (LBW)
• Or hitting the wickets before the batsmen can run to the other end of the pitch.

The batmen try to score as many runs as possible before getting out by…

• Hitting the ball and running between the wickets and making it to the other end before the fielders can hit the wickets with the ball. Each time you run one full length of the pitch it equals 1 run.
• Hitting the ball to the boundary along the ground is 4 runs.
• Hitting the ball over the boundary on the full equals 6 runs.

The fielding team must get 10 batsmen out before they can change over and start batting.
The aim of the game is to score as many runs as possible before the fielding team takes 10 wickets. The team with the most runs wins.

Here is an occasion (in the never-ending rivalry between Australia and England where George Bailey (the batsman) scored 28 runs in an over . Tactically, Australia was trying to score runs as quickly as possible with the intention of "declaring" (saying we've accumulated more runs than we think you can make so we'll terminate our innings while there's still enough time left in the game to dismiss all your batsman".

Any outline such as this will inevitably leave gaps. Cricket is an infinitely subtle and sophisticated game. If you have any questions, let me know.

My favorite writer, detective novelist Dorothy L. Sayers, wrote an entire book featuring cricket as the milieu for a murder, complete with detailed descriptions of the 'action' on the field and i have read it several times, still know zero about cricket.....
and i am a Fiend for NFL rules, often call stuff simultaneously with the refs......so it ain't that i have no sports skills.....

I am not a fan of any sports, and what I have seen of Cricket has not improved my opinion. I am all for it if makes them happy to follow their bliss, but please don't try to talk to me about it.